


Five Times Geralt Gave a Hug and One Time He Received One

by lotsofquestionslimitedanswers



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,549
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26639908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lotsofquestionslimitedanswers/pseuds/lotsofquestionslimitedanswers
Summary: In which Geralt thinks the cure for human sadness is hugs.
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 6
Kudos: 102





	Five Times Geralt Gave a Hug and One Time He Received One

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warnings:  
> Canon-typical blood, descriptions of violence, swearing
> 
> Also, this is not the very first time they've ever hugged; this is just supposed to be an example of a significant hug.  
> In this chapter, Geralt and Jaskier have been friends for a decade. They have hugged before this moment in time.

Everything happens so quickly. One moment Geralt hears leaves rustling to his left and looks to see what it is, in the next moment, the griffin attacks Geralt from his right. It lands on Geralt, knocking his sword out of his hands, and sinks its claws into his shoulders, pinning him to the ground. Geralt tries to squirm away, but he can’t. This is it. Hundreds of years of pain and regret are about to end. Any second now.

“Hey ugly!” A voice…a _familiar_ voice shouts.

Oh no.

Jaskier.

“No,” Geralt whispers.

A rock is thrown at the griffin.

A fucking _rock_.

It hits the griffin in the face.

“Oh, shit.” Geralt’s eyes widen.

The griffin looks from Geralt to Jaskier. Then the griffin charges.

Geralt scrambles to his feet to see Jaskier yelp and run away from the griffin. The griffin chases Jaskier. Geralt chases the griffin.

It doesn’t take long for the griffin to catch up to Jaskier. The good news is that it decides not to kill Jaskier right away. Geralt can smell Jaskier’s fear from here, so he knows the griffin can too. There are several creatures on this earth that enjoy tormenting those that fear them. Humans and griffins are just two examples.

Rather than killing Jaskier immediately, the griffin swipes Jaskier with its paw, sending the bard flying.

Geralt’s heart just about stops when Jaskier hits the tree and whimpers before falling silent. Geralt runs harder and stabs the griffin in its side. Adrenaline pumps through Geralt’s veins as he slashes and stabs and dives away from incoming claws and doesn’t stop until the griffin is dead.

Geralt runs to his friend. He slides on his knees in front of Jaskier and looks him over. He’s unconscious, clutching a hand to his chest. Geralt makes a mental note to check on that hand when they get to Roach and the supplies. There’s a sizeable injury on Jaskier’s forehead. Looking at it makes Geralt feel sick. There was never supposed to be this much blood on Jaskier. Not Jaskier. Not _Geralt’s_ Jaskier. Geralt was supposed to keep him _safe_. Instead, the bard has blood spilling down his face because he threw a rock at a griffin to save _Geralt_.

This is not how this was supposed to go.

Jaskier will surely leave now.

A decade of friendship seems so…short.

With a heavy heart, Geralt carefully gathers Jaskier into his arms and carries him to camp. He’s glad there’s a water-source nearby and he was able to fill up the waterskins earlier in the day. He finds one of his clean shirts from his bag and rips it up to create bandages. He wets a piece of cloth with the water from the waterskin and gingerly cleans Jaskier’s head-wound.

Just as Geralt’s misery has set in and he’s convinced things cannot get any worse, Jaskier wakes up.

Jaskier gasps and flinches. He looks around frantically and then stares at his right hand. Geralt had been so preoccupied with the head-injury that he hadn’t gotten a chance to examine the bard’s hand yet.

“Geralt?” Jaskier whispers in a shallow voice.

“I’m here,” Geralt puts his hand on Jaskier’s left shoulder…the one attached to the uninjured hand.

“Geralt, it…it hurts.” Jaskier’s voice cracks.

Geralt blinks. Jaskier complains about a lot of things. _A lot_ of things. But…pain is never one of them. If Jaskier’s sick, he’ll pretend that he’s fine just to keep traveling. If Jaskier’s injured, he’ll pretend he’s fine just to keep going.

So, this is…new.

“Can I see it?” Geralt asks. “I might be able to figure out why it hurts.”

“It hurts, Geralt.” Jaskier says softly. “It hurts so much.”

Geralt hears Jaskier take stuttering breaths. He’s sniffling. Geralt can smell the bitter scent of pain and the putrid scent of Jaskier’s fear.

“Jaskier, I can help you. I just need you to let me. Okay?” Geralt speaks in the gentlest voice he can muster.

Jaskier doesn’t seem to hear Geralt because he reaches out with his uninjured hand and clutches the front of Geralt’s shirt. “How will I play the lute? How?”

“Jask, Jaskier. Look at me. Okay?”

Jaskier doesn’t look at Geralt. “I need to be able to play. It’s my—it’s my livelihood.” Jaskier lets out a strangled sob. “What am I supposed to do if I can’t play the lute anymore?”

Geralt feels Jaskier’s pain roll off him in waves. He smells the salt of the tears gathering in Jaskier’s eyes.

Geralt’s not sure what to do. Jaskier has never reacted this way to an injury—even the last time he broke his hand he didn’t panic like this.

“My hand, my _hand_. Geralt. I’m scared.” Jaskier starts to cry in earnest. “I don’t know what to do. It hurts _so_ _badly_.”

“Jaskier, I need you to hold still. Okay? You have a head injury. I need to wrap it.”

The scent of Jaskier’s fear intensifies. He stares at Geralt as tears stream down his face. “My head?” Jaskier’s mouth shakes as he talks. “There’s something wrong with my head?”

That was clearly the wrong thing for Geralt to say.

“No—well, yes, but” Geralt takes a deep breath and “but I’m going to take care of you—until you feel better that is.”

“Do I…do I have to leave?” Jaskier won’t stop staring at Geralt. “Was I…was I a bad traveling companion?” Jaskier lets out a choked sob.

“No.” Geralt says without thinking. “I just thought you would want to leave.”

Jaskier freezes. “Why would I want to leave?”

Shit. Now Geralt’s done it. Might as well tell the truth.

“You’re a good traveling companion. You are. And, and you’re a good friend. You saved me from that griffin. I probably would’ve died if it weren’t for you; that’s the problem though. You almost died saving me. You’re in pain right now because you saved me. And I don’t want that. _I’m_ the bad traveling companion. All I do is bring you pain and blood and danger.”

Jaskier starts crying harder. “No. Geralt, _no_.”

“I don’t understand.” Geralt whispers.

Jaskier lets out a sob. “You always do this. You act like…like you’re the worst thing in the world. But—but—but you’re so—you’re _so good_. And you’re kind. And you’re worth _every second_ of the miserable parts of traveling with you. You’re worth every second I’m in pain and in danger and get bloodied up. You _are_. And I fear you’ll never…you’ll never believe that I’m telling the truth. Even though I’m here on my own accord. Even though you’ve never done anything to try to force me to be here. Geralt, I _want_ to be here. There’s no place I would rather be than right here, with you.” Jaskier grabs Geralt’s hand with his good hand. “Do you hear me, Geralt? I will _always_ put myself in danger for you.” Jaskier sniffles. “You’re my best friend and I love you. I don’t mind almost dying if it means that you get to live. I’d rather die than lose you.”

Geralt doesn’t think (again). He just reaches out and hugs Jaskier. Hot tears sting Geralt’s eyes and he closes them, hoping to stop the tears from falling. “That’s what I’m afraid of.” He admits. “I don’t want you to die.”

“I’m not going to die. I’ve got you to take care of me.” Jaskier replies, hugging Geralt back with his good arm.

If some tears spill down Geralt’s face as he holds his best friend close, that’s Geralt’s business.

If Geralt swipes at his eyes after he releases Jaskier, that’s also Geralt’s business.

If Geralt’s even more careful as he gently wipes away the blood from Jaskier’s face and cleans and bandages his head wound, and then cradles Jaskier’s hand like an injured dove when he starts to examine it, that’s Geralt’s business as well.

“This looks like something that should heal fairly quickly. We’ll take you to a healer tomorrow morning, but you should be back to terrorizing the world with your lute in no time.” Geralt tells Jaskier.

“Oh, fuck you, Geralt.” Jaskier laughs, grabbing one of the socks he'd been drying over the fire off the stick he'd hung it on. He throws the damp sock at Geralt.

Geralt laughs and allows the disgusting thing to hit him in the face.

Geralt hears Jaskier laugh when his projectile meets its mark.

A sock to the face is worth it if it means hearing Jaskier laugh.

Geralt tries to not focus too much on the words Jaskier said, but it’s hard not to. Jaskier said he loves Geralt. He probably didn't mean in the way that Geralt loves him. He probably meant in the way a friend loves another friend. It doesn’t matter. Love is dangerous.

But, Jaskier made it perfectly clear that he likes danger. And it is his choice to be here with Geralt. So…Geralt’s decision to not send Jaskier away is technically respecting Jaskier’s wishes. Jaskier wishes to be here. Geralt is too selfish to send his dearest friend away. They get to enjoy the time they have together, and everybody wins. Right? Is Geralt allowed to win…just this once?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> I'm @lotsofquestionslimitedanswers on tumblr and I post my works there too!
> 
> Please let me know what you think!:)


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